


Invidia

by starshipslytherin



Series: Jegulus writing [7]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Jealousy, M/M, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-06 18:57:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11606898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starshipslytherin/pseuds/starshipslytherin
Summary: Without realising it, James is quite jealous of a girl Regulus hangs out with.





	Invidia

For the first time in a while, James was feeling alright, and he had finally been able to forget about all his troubles. He was sitting by the window in the library, with the warm, red autumn sunlight dancing on his skin, and tickling his nose so he had to wrinkle it and sniff.  
The pale Slytherin boy who was sitting beside him briefly glanced at him, one eyebrow raised in concentration, then went back to absorbing all the contents of the leather bound book he was reading, a tiny smile curling his lips now.  
James was trying his very hardest to remain remotely quiet. He had so much energy and he was finding it hard to concentrate today, even with Regulus around him. The younger Black brother had turned out to be an ideal partner in crime when it came to sitting calmly together, just reading, without it being awkward; James had never had anything the like with anyone before. With Sirius, Peter, and even Remus, shutting up for more than two minutes in a row made him uncomfortable. Regulus was different, although he wouldn’t know how. Huffing in impatience, unable to focus on his potions book any longer, the Gryffindor let his gaze wander, and it stopped upon the other boy. Fascinating, he was; his red pouting mouth, his ever-raised left eyebrow, the noble, royal air surrounding him, and still, innocent, adorable little things about him that softened his character entirely, like the loose strand of hair that he would always forget about when putting his hair up into the tiny bun he had liked to wear lately, the curly baby hairs at his ears, and, above all, his tiny pale freckles that he might not even be aware of. Or the knowledge his stiff posh accent had been softened by a lisp when he was a child. At least Sirius said so, claiming it traumatised his ears forever, which would cause his younger brother to roll his eyes and shoot back. He was so witty, sharp tongued - and James wanted to know him better; he was perfectly aware the little boy he’d helped smuggle into the Gryffindors’ dormitory at Christmas in their second year, that little boy had grown up. Grown up, most likely, to be an amazing person.  
“Oi”, he whispered, “Reggie. You got some spare time later? Sitting by the lake, or going for a little broomstick race? I bet you can’t beat me -”  
“I would”, Regulus breathed, “but I’m helping out a classmate with her astronomy project -”  
“Oh, so it’s a girl”, James wiggled his brows knowingly, unable to figure out why something inside him had started to sting a bit.  
Regulus gave him a deadpan expression. “She’s likeable, you know”, he shrugged. “You’ve seen her with me before, she used to tutor me in history until I got the hang of it. Scottish? Red curls?”  
James swallowed. “Um, dunno. Is she - pretty?”  
“Most people think so.”  
“And - you?”  
“Can’t deny it”, the Slytherin smirked.  
“That’s cool”, James nodded. “And - her name? What’s her name?”  
“Um, Marianne. Leicester. She’s a Slytherin, too. I’m sure you’ve seen her before.”  
“I guess”, James pressed through his teeth, not knowing why he was suddenly feeling so nauseous, but he chose to ignore it. “I’m happy for you.”  
Regulus smiled, making his barely visible freckles dance. “Me, too”, he said.  
For some reason, this felt like a punch in the gut to James. Performed by someone with quite a nice right hook.

*

James Potter had never seen this Marianne girl before, he could have sworn, but suddenly, she seemed to be all around him. And boy, Regulus hadn’t been exaggerating, she really was good looking, with a bouncing, curly ponytail, porcelain skin, and her chestnut coloured eyes were just so - so awake. She was captivating. And she even began haunting his dreams, with Regulus Black, who was, so adorably, half a foot shorter than her, snogging her stupid, and it was driving James round the edge, and he was as cross as two sticks whenever they popped up in his mind. He couldn’t concentrate on anything and failed his potions paper he had attempted to study for, and he had no idea why.  
To Sirius, the matter was quite simple. “She’s fucking bomb”, he drawled, underlining his statement by slamming his fist onto the table. “But don’t worry about Reg, mate. She’s way out of his league.”  
‘But what if _he_ likes _her_ ’, James would have blurted if he hadn’t realised what he would have been saying before it was too late. And that was weird. He tried to convince himself the reason why he was hoping Regulus wasn’t falling for her was that he didn’t want him hurt. Which was sort of true, just - not _like that._ All he wanted was to protect his best mate’s sibling, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?!

*

“You okay?”, came a hushed voice from his right. James didn’t turn to look at the Slytherin boy, just shook his head nervously, tipping over his inkwell in the process because he’d accidentally moved his elbow. He forced himself to face Regulus’s little frown, which was cute beyond all measure. The latter cleaned up James’s mess with a flick of his wand and raised his eyebrow.  
“What is it?”  
“How’s it going with Marianne?”, James asked, and he hadn’t wanted to make it sound pointed at all, but it came out pretty aggressively.  
Regulus looked a bit taken aback. “Well - she’s a good friend, as you might have figured out, as we keep hanging out-”  
“Sure, _‘friend’_ ”, James repeated sharply.  
“Yeah”, the Slytherin hissed, “my best friend, actually. She’s a very bright witch and has a gifted mind and I genuinely enjoy spending time with her. Any questions?”  
“So why’re you not spending any time with me? Am I just the idiot you study with?”, he shot back more heatedly than intended. Something had been painfully sweltering inside him for quite a while, and now he was prepared to release the flame, and although it was giving him a bit of a bad conscience, it felt relieving.  
“Oh yes, indeed, you are an idiot. You’re the only person whose presence I even tolerate when you’re around me while I’m studying. You don’t even know me enough to know how much that means -”  
“How am I supposed to get to know you when you’re spending all your time around perfect little Marianne?”, James seethed.  
The two boys glared at each other for a while, each determinedly trying to not even blink; it was childish, but somehow necessary.  
Until at once, Regulus’s glare was replaced with a suave grin. “Wait a minute”, he said slowly. “You are jealous.”  
“I’m not!”, James blurted out, catching a disapproving look from Madame Pince.  
“Oh yes, you are. You’re into Marianne, aren’t you?”  
“I’m not!”, James hissed.  
“Oh yeah. Totally, you totally are.”  
“I hate that girl!”  
The younger one frowned. “Pfft, sure. You haven’t even spoken to her. Been busy trying to kill me with your glares -”  
“They weren’t meant for you!”, James spat. “You’re really cool! You’re an adorable little muffin, how would I be mad at you -?”  
He was taken off track when Regulus snorted and tried not to burst out laughing. “You’re so ridiculous, James. But I’ve got you figured out.” And at that, he slammed his book shut and strutted off.  
“No, you haven’t!”, the Gryffindor called after him.  
All he got from Regulus in response was a smug look over his shoulder.  
And all he knew was, he definitely wasn’t jealous of the younger boy to get to hang around with Marianne. For a spilt second, the thought crossed his mind that he was just disappointed because Regulus might like her and she was a _girl_ \- which was enough to help him figure out why he’d been so obsessed with the Slytherin, and why he really liked his best friend’s little brother that much - and it all suddenly made sense, although he couldn’t really believe it, because he’d figured out his own emotions and it had been so simple, and yet - it was so hard. Still - now he knew. And it was making him feel all queasy.

*

When James headed off to make his way down to the library the next day, hoping to find Reg there, the boy was already waiting in front of the Fat Lady’s portrait, beaming at him, and he hadn’t brought any books. He responded to James’s puzzled look with a slight nod of his head, indicating the Gryffindor to follow him.  
“We’re going to the lake - unless you’re eager to be beaten in a broomstick race?”, he panted running down the staircase in front of James.  
“Maybe later”, the latter smiled. “For now, I need to relax -”  
“Quite out of shape for a future star chaser, aren’t you?”  
“Oh, shut it!”, James laughed, clutching at his stinging hip.  
They made their way down to the tall old oak tree beside the Black Lake, where Regulus spread out his coat on the ground and let himself fall onto it, inviting James to do the same.  
“I didn’t realise how desperately you wanted to spend some time with me”, the younger one mumbled, a soft blush tinting his white cheeks. “You’ve got so many friends and I’m just-”  
“You’re great”, James cut him off. “You’re special. You’re the only person I can be quiet and calm around and just not talk without it being awkward. It’s comfortable. Even though I love talking, and I like talking to you. But we don’t talk when we’re studying. Which is alright -”, he quickly added, “- but I’d love doing something else time after time. Because you’re way more to me than just someone I study around.”  
Regulus huffed. “Is that why you’re jealous of my friend?”  
“That”, the older boy huffed, “and another thing.”  
“You know”, the Slytherin said quietly, “I’m not even - that into girls. Perhaps just a bit. I don’t know. The only thing I’m sure of is - your presence is something I like being in. Quite like being in.”  
“What kind of 'quite’? Does it mean kind of, or rather, or very?”  
“It means quite”, Regulus said slowly. “Sorry if that surpasses the capacity of your single brain cell.”  
James laughed and shoved him playfully. “Shut it, you idiot!”  
“You shut it”, Reg laughed.  
“No, you shut it -”  
“How do I shut _you_ up?”  
James wiggled his brows. “Oh, there is a way”, he smiled. “We’d both not be able to talk too much.”  
“Does it include lots of physical contact and kissing?”  
“If you want it to?”  
“Good”, Regulus grinned, “because I’m a bit cold. Since we’re sitting on my coat.”  
“It’s keeping our arses warm”, James argued jokingly.  
“Which is equally important, of course.”  
The Gryffindor chuckled, loosening his red and gold scarf a bit and starting to drape it around the Slytherin. “May I?”  
Regulus just smiled, and as they were both wrapped in James’s scarf, lips touched, and Regulus’s lips were soft and red and his breath was warm, and his body, pressed against James’s, fit like a missing puzzle piece under the faint warmth of the tender autumn sun.


End file.
